The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner has a history of shooting the puck over the glass and getting a delay of game penalty during the playoffs. In fact, he has taken six penalties during the playoffs in his entire NHL career, and five of those calls were puck over the glass calls. Marner played more than 30 minutes in Game 6 against the Montreal Canadiens in the North Division playoffs. Still, it was five seconds that will be remembered.
In the third period, the Canadiens finally beat Maple Leafs’ goalie Jack Campbell going up 1-0. Toronto unsuccessfully challenged the goal resulting in a penalty. 19 seconds into the penalty kill, Marner shot the puck over the glass, causing a delay of game penalty. Montreal, now on a 5 on 3 advantage, scored 58 seconds later. The Habs went on to win 3-2 in overtime.
Marner’s History of Puck Over the Glass
Marner was accessed two puck over the glass infractions during the 2018 series against the Boston Bruins, one in Game 2 and one in Game 6. He took another one in Game 5 against the Bruins in 2019. In 2020, Marner had a tripping call against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Now, he has two puck over the glass calls in 2021. Marner sat in the sin bin for 20 minutes during 55 games this season. He now has four minutes in just six playoff games in 2020-21.
It’s dumbfounding when you consider, he is one of the NHL’s smartest and most disciplined players. He has phenomenal play-making skills. He is an incredible penalty killer. He is a disciplined player who stays out of the penalty box and often draws the opposition into a penalty due to his quick feet and systematic approach. Marner had no answers for his unforced error at a critical time in the game.
Screengrabs of Marner watching from the penalty box were shared on Twitter. Some viewers were convinced he was crying. It’s doubtful, he was tearing up, but he did look to be in pain watching his team try to cover for his mistake. As you saw in that video, he answered for his mistake. But to truly atone for the error, he will have to be a key to victory in Game 7 on Monday night.
